Archive for the ‘evan goldberg’ Category

To the undiscerning viewer this film may seem like just another teen sex comedy like the less-than-thoughtful American Pie franchise. And while it is rated R and contains plenty of crude lauguage, a closer look at the work of Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and who was a producer on this Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-written film) reveals Superbad as an interesting picture of our culture. And an all to accurate one at that.

The plot centers on two average high school friends and their crazy plans on how to explore their raging sexuality a few weeks before their graduation. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) have learned what culture has told them about who they are and who they should be. They want to pursue this, but there is also something deeper holding them back. So they end up getting invited to a party and asked to bring the booze, which they convince uber-geek Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)–aka McLovin, a twenty-five year-old Hawaiian organ donor–to buy with his fake ID. The plan goes horribly wrong and the night gets progressively worse.

Eventually, they make it to the intended party and find that getting drunk and hooking up with women isn’t the glamorous “meaning of life” that our culture often sets it up to be. In fact, coming to understand one’s sexuality in high school turns out to be an independent study with one’s close friends as the teachers. This makes for many awkward situations and conversations when the characters, niavely charging ahead- making it up as they go along.

While providing plenty of laughs and gags, the seriousness of Seth and Evan’s friendship soon becomes apparent; it confronts the audience with the questions of one’s identity and the friendships and committments that make us who we are. And like all of Apatow’s work, the film ends with a fable-like moral: our friendships are what maintain order and intimacy amidst the overwhelming chaos and fear that often invades our relationships.